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▶ Celebrities turn to podcasts to hang on to fans during pandemic
Cooped up like many of us, movie stars, politicians and reality show types eager to hold onto their fans are turning to podcasts to get through the pandemic, converting their homes – even a bathroom in one case – into makeshift recording studios.
There is something out there for everyone: While Demi Moore, with her trademark raspy voice, headlines an erotic podcast called Dirty Diana, Jamie Lee Curtis and Matthew McConaughey read stories for kids.
Former first lady Michelle Obama talks about personal issues in a podcast called simply The Michelle Obama Podcast, while actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett interview other celebrities on one called
SmartLess.
Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, has been waging a crusade against him since September in a podcast called
Mea Culpa.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have one, too. The first episode featured contributions from prominent people talking about how they are coping with the pandemic and what they are learning.
Reality show stars are also in on the craze. Paris Hilton is scheduled to launch a podcast at the end of February through radio giant iHeartMedia and Kim Kardashian signed a deal with Spotify to develop a show on criminal justice reform, a cause in which she has
been active. While podcasts with stars are nothing new, their sudden abundance is a natural consequence of the COVID- 19 crisis, said Nicholas Quah, creator of the Hot Pod blog.
With Hollywood largely shut down because of the pandemic “so many of these celebrities are unable to get television or film productions going,” he said.
“This is an opportunity for these people to still reach fans and reach people.”
No need for a set
Many are drawn by the flexibility of podcasts because there is no need for a set or camera or special wardrobe, and doing them is safe COVID- 19- wise.
For the sexy podcast Dirty Diana, co- produced by media and podcast company startup QCODE, the actors recorded themselves at home, the company’s cofounder Rob Herting said.
For the best sound, he said, “they had to find a great room in their house. And for Demi it was the bathroom. It ended up being a lot of fun and we certainly have had other actors recording in closets, or whatever has the best acoustics.”
What is more, podcasts can be made relatively quickly and cheaply.
Dirty Diana, for instance, was recorded in May 2020 and released in July 2020, whereas once a movie is shot it can take a couple of years for it to come out. The average budget for a QCODE podcast, some of which feature Oscar- winning actors such as Rami Malek, is in the low to mid six- figures, while even a low budget movie needs maybe a million dollars, said Herting. Revenue from the podcast industry is still far smaller than that of movies, TV or music, even if podcasts are all the rage now.
Ad revenue from podcasts should rise by 15 percent for 2020 once figures are in and approach a billion dollars, said a study published in July 2020 by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
“This is now a space that some entertainment industry people see as a worthwhile investment. And that was not necessarily a 100 percent the case previously,” said Quah.
“It’s bad in the sense that a lot of the advertiser money which would have been going to people who were in the space for the long term ends up going to them first,” he said, referring to the celebrities.
In the limelight
“I think most celebrities that come in, they would probably think that it’s an extension of their brand,” said Quah.
“It’s just for the celebrity to stay in your attention, whether they’re going to sell you a book or not, as long as they still have your attention,” he added.
However, podcast studios like projects with stars because their fans guarantee an audience and these shows offer the possibility of being adapted to film or TV.
Amazon, for instance, is getting ready to turn Dirty Diana into a TV series starring Moore.
But will the podcast boom last after pandemic lifestyles end and stars go back to making movies and such?
Yes, says Herting.
“The time commitment for an actor is just so low,” said this boss of QCODE, which plans to launch more than a dozen star- studded podcasts in 2021.
But Colin Anderson of Stitcher, which produces a comedy podcast featuring the actor Rob Lowe, warns of the risk of saturation of “just famous people talking to other famous people.”
“Celebrities are going to have to be more creative with the podcasts they launch and give people a more compelling reason than just their celebrity to subscribe,” said Anderson.
Erling Braut Haaland produced another deadly display of finishing with a first- half brace as Borussia Dortmund came from behind to beat Sevilla 3- 2 in Spain in the first leg of their Champions League last- 16 tie on Wednesday.
Suso’s deflected strike gave last season’s Europa League winners an early lead behind closed doors at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium, but Mahmoud Dahoud soon equalized before Haaland took over.
The Norway phenomenon put Dortmund in front in the 27th minute and then scored again two minutes before halftime, the goals taking him to 25 in 24 appearances this season in all competitions.
Still aged just 20, he has scored 18 times in just 13 Champions League appearances since the start of last season.
Substitute Luuk de Jong’s late reply gave Sevilla cause for hope heading into the return leg on March 9, but Dortmund remain favorites to progress to the quarterfinals.
“We didn’t deserve to lose, but in the end they had one of the best players in the world up front and he made the difference in three situations which could have been avoided,” said Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui.
Haaland, who also set up Dahoud’s equalizer, produced a performance, in the first half at least, which showcased his remarkable strength, hold- up play and pace as well as his brilliant finishing.
Nine- game winning run ended
It was too much for a Sevilla side who had come into this tie with high hopes, having only been beaten by La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid, away, in their previous 19 outings.
Lopetegui’s team had won their previous nine matches on the bounce and had kept seven straight clean sheets before the arrival of Dortmund and Haaland.
“This was one of our best performances of the season,” Dortmund coach Edin Terzic, who replaced the sacked Lucien Favre after the group phase, told Sky.
“We are pleased with the result and proud to have beaten such a team.”
Sevilla have won the Europa League or its predecessor, the UEFA Cup, an incredible six times since 2005, but only once have they got past the last 16 of the Champions League, when they beat Manchester United in 2018 before losing to Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.
The quality of Haaland was the difference here as Dortmund, having sunk to sixth in the Bundesliga on a poor run of form, came to life on their return to the Champions League.
“We had a good plan. Edin has been good and I’ve been talking a lot with him. He said today would be my game and that I would get my chances and I did, so it was an important win,” Haaland told DAZN.
Yet the game had started well for Sevilla, with Suso opening the scoring in the seventh minute, his shot deflecting in off Mats Hummels.
Dortmund drew level in the 19th minute as Haaland showed terrific strength to hold the ball up on the right before coming infield and feeding Dahoud, who worked his way into position to fire a superb shot high into net from just outside the area.
It was the first goal Sevilla had conceded in more than 12 hours of football.
Eight minutes later they conceded again.
Haaland dropped deep, collecting possession near the halfway line, and then turned and charged towards goal, playing a pass to Jadon Sancho on the edge of the box and then continuing on to place the return ball past goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
He struck again two minutes before halftime, slotting home firsttime after Marco Reus had stolen the ball from the feet of Alejandro “Papu” Gomez before bearing down on goal.
However, Sevilla dominated the second half as Dortmund sat back, and the hosts got a potentially crucial second goal six minutes from the end.
Oscar Rodriguez’s high, hanging free kick was turned into the net by De Jong, giving them something to cling to.
Porto edge Juve 2- 1
Porto edged Juventus 2- 1 in their Champions League last- 16, first leg clash Wednesday with the lackluster Italian giants needing a late goal to grab a lifeline in the tie.
Porto’s Iran attacker Mehdi Taremi pounced on an under- hit back- pass from Rodrigo Bentancur to beat Wojciech Szczesny in the Juve goal with barely a minute gone.
Mali striker Moussa Marega added the second in the 46th minute after fine approach work by fullback Wilson Manafa.
However, Juve stayed afloat with eight minutes left when Federico Chiesa scored with a first- time effort from Adrien Rabiot’s cross.
The second leg of the tie is in Turin on March 9.